


Feelings

by CalicoNekoChi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, Kinks Mentioned, M/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Married Sex, Morning Sex, Quickie, Riding, Some Plot, will update tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2018-08-23 04:00:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8313211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalicoNekoChi/pseuds/CalicoNekoChi
Summary: Most people spend their lives focusing on work and success, and while both of those prospects drive both Oikawa and Kageyama, forsaking the smaller moments is unacceptable. 
In which I show you snippets of OiKage married life.
Chapter 3 will contain immense sexual content, viewer digression is or isn't advised.





	1. Winter's Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

> So basically I based every chapter off of a Tumblr post (linked below) about different feelings and thought it would be cool to write a short fanfiction series on it. There will be six chapters, each centering around a different feeling on the list. Three will be from Oikawa's third person perspective and the other three will be from Kageyama's. In this, they are married and that is about as much of a plot as there is. It's basically just six different events in their lives together. So, please enjoy it!
> 
> Post: http://caliconekochi.tumblr.com/post/151963760275/ribboneesta-some-feelings-entering-a-warm-room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entering a warm room after being out in the cold.

Sometimes winter was a cruel joke nature liked to play on its unruly inhabitants. It would just dump heaps of snow on everyone, ice the grounds, and chill the air enough to allow puffs of hot air to escape trembling lips. Frantic limps desperately clung to whatever fabric they could find to defend themselves from the frigid temperatures, and sometimes they even grasped onto the bodies of loved ones to warm up. These were the exact reasons why Tooru’s relationship with winter was so bittersweet.

He loved wearing sweaters and sweat pants, then just spending a lazy day cuddled up with his husband, Tobio. The taste of warm foods and drinks were always reassuring to his body and fluffy socks weren’t acceptable any other time of the year. Moreover, Tobio’s birthday was towards the start of the festive season, allowing for wonderful festivities and playful blushes of the highest caliber to brighten Tooru’s mood even when the dreary skies and dirty snow set out to ruin it.

However, this only balanced out his disdain for chapped lips, prickling noses, and random attacks of various microbes and viruses. He hated the way his face turned innumerable shades of pink and his revealed skin required extra moisturizer thanks to the dry air. Then there was the boring time between New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Sure, there were choice things he could do, but after the festive end of December, it all just felt tedious. That and Valentine’s Day – and later White’s Day in March – always came crashing in seemingly out of nowhere.

Yes, Tooru’s relationship with winter was bittersweet at best. However, unlike his relationship with Tobio, there didn’t seem to be a permanent upturn anywhere in the near future. He knew that as soon as the temperatures started demanding a sweater he would start coming home with more to complain about than usual. He also knew that once he started coming home with more complaints, Tobio started wearing earbuds to drown out his loud arrival. At first, Tooru had found this rather offensive. He’d front in their arguments about the subject that Tobio should be dying to talk to him after being apart for much of the day. However, in reality he was just offended that his once starry eyed protégé was more blatant about expressing his dislikes than formerly assumed.

Tobio wasn’t heartless, or at the very least, he was able to play it off that he wasn’t as heartless as he was socially inept. He’d patiently listen when prompted. Sometimes Tooru wished that his husband wouldn’t wait for some sort of cue to engage with the rest of society, though. Nevertheless, that was just a small flaw that Tooru had come to (begrudgingly) accept and go along with over the past few years.

Today was no different. Temperatures had begun to drop a few weeks ago and Tooru had predictably started wearing sweaters and complaining about the weather while Tobio blocked him out. In Tooru’s opinion, it wasn’t cold enough to start bringing the car everywhere, nor was it cold enough to stop using a fan indoors, so he walked fifteen minutes to practice.

That had been a disastrous mistake. By the evening, an unexpected cold front had enveloped the city and the flimsy navy fabric of Tooru’s sweater was hardly conducive to insolation. In addition, the wind was as vicious as Tooru’s pride by that point, just blustering through the darkening skies and dragging whatever it could lift with it.

Tooru frowned deeply as he stared at the city through the gym window. Everything about this vanishing twilight was atrocious. Not only was the weather preparing to execute him, but the city lights also blared with such ferocity that the premiering stars were barely visible. The walk back would hone in on the worst parts of winter and this all could’ve been avoided if he’d taken five seconds out of his morning to check the weather report or accepted a ride from one of his teammates. But no, his pride had worked against him and he was left to both lock up the gym and damn the impending night on his walk home.

Just opening the large, metal doors rose an army of goosebumps over his clothed skin, let alone the reinforcements risen after stepping out into enemy territory. Tooru bit down on his bottom lip to keep himself from shuddering. Fifteen minutes wasn’t _that_ bad. He jogged more than that every morning. If he kept reminding himself that he was only five standard song lengths away from the safety of his home, then it wouldn’t be as brutal. However, that was actually hard to reinforce when he could see his bare hand trembling while he locked the gym doors.

Tooru decisively shoved his hands into his sweater pockets and speed walked down the sidewalk. His back hunched over to allow his body to huddle together in a desperate attempt to conserve heat but the tremors kept rocking through him. Why had he decided to take a quick shower after practice? Sure, the water was warm and inviting, but he wasn’t able to dry off enough to prevent the outdoors from scolding him. Granted, even if he hadn’t showered he’d have gotten colder thanks to accumulated sweat, so there really hadn’t been a good alternative this time. But what good was all of this muscle if he couldn’t use it like whale blubber? Obviously, it wasn’t as cold out as it was in the ocean depths, but it still felt generally unbearable.

The streets he passed were all a blur with how fixated he was on leaving this miserable experience in the past. Normally he’d find himself enamored with the many scents of the city’s commercial district and nearby homes settling in for dinner. After practice was a hungry time for any athlete, so when Tooru’s stomach finally started to grumble he found himself abhorring yet another feature of that evening. Of course, life itself decided to pick on him today. That was just how things worked, after all.

By the time, Tooru had finally stormed up the apartment building stairs his legs were crying for salvation and both his hands and nose had resigned themselves to pricking him until he found a heat source. He felt his own irritation boiling when a particularly strong wind rattled the stairs and his keys nearly dropped in front of the apartment door. If it weren’t for the knowledge that no one would listen to his complaints, he would’ve dived right into self-pity by then.

Luckily for everyone involved, though, he had kept some semblance of dignity until he unlocked the door and forced his way into his shared apartment. The warmth flooding his senses was kind and painful to his chilled skin, but the pins-and-needles were nothing but welcomed in this case. He ignored them, too, since he preferred inhaling and finally allowing his muscles to relax.

He’d hardly gotten the door shut and one shoe off by the time Tobio had peaked his head out from their bedroom down the hall. Tooru stared at his husband for a long, quiet moment, even tilting his head to the side for further analysis. Tobio was wearing a gray hat that covered his ears and a matching scarf that prevented Tooru from seeing much of the young man’s face. Further down was the hints of Tobio’s familiar winter coat.

“Tobio?” Tooru called as he took in his husband’s obvious grimace before he disappeared into the room all together.

Naturally, Tooru got his other shoe off and quickly skated down the hallway just in time to see his own coat on the bed and a closed coffee mug on their nightstand. Tobio was in the process of sliding his coat off his shoulders, his eyes fixated on the floor and a flourishing pink blush forming on his face. Tooru only stared at him in understanding, leaning against the doorway and waiting for Tobio to explain himself in his own time.

“The radio it was going to get really cold out, but when I got back home you’d already left,” Tobio finally started after a prolonged period of nothing but outerwear removal, “I had hoped you would’ve gotten a ride home. But it was taking you a long time to get back and I started thinking you just sucked it up and walked instead.”

Tooru nodded slowly. A smile started to yank at his tired lips while he walked over to Tobio, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his face into the other’s shoulder. “I didn’t want you to freeze, so I was going to bring your jacket and a cup of coffee,” Tobio finished gruffly as his embarrassment took over the rest of his face.

Tooru pressed a chaste kiss to Tobio’s rosy cheek and laughed when Tobio whined and tried to claw his way out of Tooru’s arms.

Winter was bittersweet, indeed. It provided the most miserable days as well as the sweetest presents. Plus, it enabled Tooru to see Tobio in cute hats and that was more than enough to make his day right again.


	2. Resonance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The “boom” in your heart when you hear a firework explode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debating whether or not to do a prequel to this whole thing after finishing chapter 6. Thoughts?

It was rather universally accepted that getting extra sleep while assaulted by a cold was definitely the way to go. No one in their right minds considered it lethargy. It was just a desperate attempt to combat the foreign, militant germs before anything worse happened. However, no one ever claimed that the sick were actually in a right state of mind. They were often dizzy and could venture into delirium in the blink of an eye. So, since their judgement wasn’t considered sound, those who cared for the ill obviously had to make sure their most stubborn patients didn’t flee their quarantined area.

That was Tooru’s task for much of the past week. Tobio had caught a cold soon after his husband’s birthday and had been feeling under the weather ever since. Naturally, he wanted to continue with his life, but then he fell down after standing up too quickly and Tooru had condemned him to bedrest. This ended up being unfortunate since Tooru loved going to the festivals during the summer months, even if it meant physically dragging his husband along for the ride.

Since Tobio hadn’t recovered enough by the day of the festival, Tooru would’ve had to go alone, drag friends along, or not go at all this year. The first or second option had been the one Tobio had presumed Tooru would go with, regardless of how (not so) subtly annoyed Tobio would’ve been.

The whole morning and afternoon of the festival day felt sluggish to Tobio. He woke up relatively early to eat and was glad that he could actually stomach solid food without feeling nauseous. Regardless, he was encouraged to keep his meals light since his insides had still felt like disintegrating just the previous night. He did comply with this and spent much of that morning nibbling while Tooru dashed off to work after taking far too long on the phone. It was almost funny how normal everything felt despite Tobio spending the morning in his husband’s pajama pants and worn t-shirt since he felt cold.

Somewhere along the line, he drifted off on the couch with his laptop streaming some Netflix show Tooru was crazy about. Tobio couldn’t actually remember the title or much of the plot since he had neither took in the information Tooru ranted and raved about in relation to the show nor paid attention while it was playing, but he was sure he’d eventually understand it.

In the meantime, he had curled himself up on the couch under a few blankets and lethargically glanced around every half hour or so when he’d rise, only to fall back asleep minutes later. At some point in the afternoon he’d been awoken by the front door opening and Tooru managing to fall while getting his shoes off. Tobio had sat up for that and just groggily stared at his husband for a long moment before exhaustion started pulling him back to sleep in that position.

“You’re going to hurt your back that way, moron,” he vaguely heard Tooru grumble before he felt the taller man’s hands gently push him down on the couch and tuck him in. After that, the sound from his laptop was gone.

The next time Tobio had actually come to consciousness because his stomach had waged war in his gut and demanded he feed himself. A soft whine trembled out of his dry lips as he muttered his husband’s name. There wasn’t a reply, though. In fact, other than the distant festival sounds from a little ways away, it was quiet in the apartment.

Tobio sighed and glowered over at the wall clock. It was already the evening and right around the time the festival had been due to begin. He had preemptively figured that Tooru would go be going to the festival whether he could accompany the older man or not, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping that Tooru wouldn’t go.

As annoying as the realization that his husband had left him alone was, Tobio knew that if he didn’t get up and feed himself he’d start getting a headache. This wasn’t the time to feel bitchy about Tooru’s life decisions.

Lethargically, Tobio forced himself into a seated position on the side of the couch and stretched his currently numb arms above his head. Every movement spurred a widespread wave of pins and needles over his limbs and torso, causing Tobio to stiffen in some vain attempt to protect himself from the inevitable. It had been more than 12 hours since he’d actually gotten up from the couch, so standing was stiff and miserable. All of his entrails seemed to be screeching at him for different reasons and his throat was dry from thirst. Right now, he promised himself to never sleep for so long, regardless of if he had a cold or not. But deep down, he knew that this would inevitably happen again. It always did.

Slowly, as to not bring back the wrath of circulation, he made his way to the kitchen and reached for one of their overused pots to make some soup. First he’d put some water to boil while he went about chopping some vegetables and getting together some flour and stock to thicken the water. It was just some simple vegetable soup, since thawing some sort of meat to go in it sounded tedious, but it was something that Tobio could easily make in his most delirious states.

He had been in the middle of putting in the last of the vegetables when the front door unlocked and the shuffling of footsteps and paper entered the apartment. Tobio, naturally, looked in the direction of the kitchen entryway, expecting Tooru to come past the small wall that blocked sight of the door from the stove with friends. Yet, it was quiet, unlike the other times either of them brought guests over. So, Tobio leaned back a little to try and get some sort of preview into the small entryway but was only met with the distracted face of his husband peering into some large brown back in his hands.

“What are you doing?” Tobio called out as he slowly headed towards the door.

Tooru looked somewhat surprised when he heard Tobio’s voice, as if he hadn’t expected the other to be conscious yet. But that face was immediately replaced with one of his normally collected expressions and a bright, toothy smile.

“Taking my shoes off,” the brunet relayed, finishing his statement with a blunt ‘duh’ while he fully entered the apartment and walked to the table, “It’s really hot out there, you know?”

“No, I don’t know. And what’s that?” Tobio asked. He went up to Tooru’s side but he could neither see into the bag – since his husband quickly obstructed his vision – nor could he smell anything, since he still had a stuffy noise.

“Well, it is. It’s gross and humid, I don’t recommend it at all.”

“Okay, whatever, but what’s in the bag?”

Tooru hummed softly when the brown bag on the table was once again questioned, merely whistling in response, “Bag? What bag?”

Tobio frowned deeply at Tooru’s persistent avoidance, one of his hands raising to try and grab the bag. Quickly, Tooru swatted his hand away, giving him that scolding look he usually did when Tobio became rather impatient with waiting.

“Tobio, aren’t you even going to ask me where I was?” Tooru mused as he defensively pulled the bag away from his husband’s reach.

“No? I figured you just went to the festival with friends or something,” the shorter of the two responded, his head tilting a little to the side in mild confusion.

Tooru frowned at that, his hands leaving the bag to settle on his own hips. “Tobio! What kind of person do you take me for?!”

“You don’t want me answering that,” Tobio mumbled under his breath, though he still received an exasperated ‘what?!’ from his husband. He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck as he shifted his weight between his feet. “Sorry? …Um, so, where did you go?”

Tooru paused for a long moment Tobio chalked up to being dramatic before the young man finally sighed in a lofty manner. “I went to the festival,” he dismissed, finally opening the brown paper bag to reveal some wrapped festival food he’d brought home, “and I brought it back so you wouldn’t miss anything but heat stroke and getting all sweaty and gross. Aren’t I just the best husband ever, Tobio?”

Per usual, Tobio didn’t answer the obviously rhetorical question. Though this time it was mostly because he was too busy ogling the food Tooru had brought home to actually hear half of the other’s sentence. A quirky smile pulled over his dry lips as he looked up at his husband and awkwardly wrapped his arms around the man’s middle. He felt Tooru’s body jolt with abrupt laughter before strong arms came around his fatigued form and squeezed him.

“Idiot, why are you more happy for food than about me being home?” Tooru murmured. He left a series of faint kisses on Tobio’s head while nuzzling his nose into the dark locks, earning him an incoherent mumble. After a moment of content silence, a low sigh escaped Tooru’s thin lips and he started to pull away from his husband’s more tenacious hold. It made him smile as it always did, though he constantly kept checking both the stove to make sure the pot there didn’t boil over and the clock beyond it.

He murmured a soft, “Tobio, your pot probably needs your attention,” and tried moving his feet to shake his husband off.

Tobio groaned when he let go of Tooru, making sure his displeasure was obvious as he slinked over to the stove to check on his soup. After giving it a quick stir, he turned off the stove and removed it from heat. He’d almost forgotten that he was hungry, but that usually happened whenever Tooru came home.

It didn’t take Tobio long to consume a full bowl of soup while he watched Tooru put away the fair food for later. Nothing was ever as good preheated, but eating something heavy or greasy definitely wasn’t recommended for a weak stomach – as Tooru had immediately pointed out when Tobio had kept staring at the bag.  

Once he had finished his soup and cleaned the dishes, Tobio had heard a familiar rustle coming from Tooru’s direction and soon saw a medical mask hanging up in his peripheral vision. “Tooru, I’m not wearing that mask,” he stated, but it was only pushed more at him.

“Come on Tobio, you’ve been cooped up all day, you need some fresh air!” Tooru persisted, even going so far as to hook one end of the mask over Tobio’s ear.

Naturally, Tobio grimaced. Of course they both tended to put on this type of mask whenever they got sick and had to leave the house. It was even a fashion statement for some who weren’t sick. But Tobio disdained the feeling of it behind his ears. It just felt all kinds of uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he relented and finished pulling it over his face.

“If I get sicker, I’m blaming you.”

“If you get sicker I’ll get to take care of you all day tomorrow.”

“…I’d better not get sicker.”

Tooru promptly huffed and swiftly turned on his heels, stomping his feet on his way to the door. It was pretty childish, Tobio determined, neglecting how childish he also tended to be. He had to stifle a laugh, though, or else Tooru might’ve actually gotten upset.

It didn’t take Tobio long to follow after his husband – even though it took him a while to actually get his shoes on and not fall – and let the older man take his hand once they were outside. Tooru took the lead, muttering something about knowing the perfect route for just a short walk. Tobio had wanted to protest actually going for a walk, but getting the opportunity to walk hand-in-hand with his husband on a starlit night was a rare occurrence he didn’t necessarily want to pass up.

He wished it was a quiet evening, though. The further they walked along the progressively wooded street, the louder the sounds of the festival became. Few were on their way back down this road, so Tobio figured the fireworks hadn’t started yet. This was pretty lucky, in his mind. Since there weren’t many people walking around so far from the festival and no cars were driving on this road right now, it left him virtually alone with Tooru.

If they were younger, Tobio knew his heart would be racing right now. It already felt somewhat romantic – minus the pale blue mask covering the lower half of his face – and back then, things like this had never really been his thing. Tooru, the self-described romantic, had always been the one to take the lead. Even now, that mostly held true. But that had much more to do with Tobio’s ability to turn fifty different shades of red at one thing Tooru did rather than his inability to lead.

Unlike Tooru, Tobio was much more subtle in his advances. They weren’t so much rare as they were harder to detect. Tooru had once claimed that it made Tobio’s control of the situation much more special, though he refused to admit that his persistent governing would then be considered average. Logically speaking, they were pretty average at this point. But, to Tobio, they’d never reach that level until the day came that his heart wasn’t speeding up as a result.

After a while of walking, the sounds of the festival had become incredibly loud and they’d only traveled in one direction. Tobio sighed a bit at this. His body was still raked with the remnants of a cold. Fatigue was the last thing he wanted, but it, currently, was forcing him to considerably slow down and lag behind Tooru’s long strides. It only took him a few more solid minutes before he finally came to a stop and watched his husband keep going until their joined hands prevented him from further advances.

Tooru only turned his head to face Tobio with a rather irritated raised brow and downward lip curve. He didn’t need to say anything when his expression said all he was thinking and his hand tugging Tobio onward emphasized it.

“How much longer? I’m getting tired,” Tobio complained. He didn’t even get to finish his second sentence when a sudden uproar of cheers echoed from the nearby festival. At first, he was confused, allowing his words to dissipate as soon as they emerged on his lips and his attention to turn to the lights in the distance. Seeing the sparkling festival from the hill they currently stood on both excited him and annoyed him, since it meant that Tooru had used this stroll to ‘get some air’ as a scapegoat to getting him to the festival.

He turned his gaze from the light to Tooru right as a rapid series of startling crackles filled the air and fiery shades of pinks, oranges, yellows, blues, and more filled the sky. Each formation of bursting fireworks sent a jolt through Tobio’s chest, filling his body from head to toe in some mixture of excitement and fear.

Unbeknownst to him, Tooru was actually staring at him rather than the fireworks. In fact, he only took notice of this when his husband’s freehand came up to cup his cheek that the brunet’s gaze had solely belonged to him. Tobio smiled, bright and filled with white teeth, at Tooru, even though he knew the majority of his expression was invisible under the mask.

“Still tired?” Tooru asked during the first intermission.

Tobio quickly shook his head, but before he could answer, Tooru had leaned in and pressed a slow, tender kiss to his lips through the medical mask. It wasn’t the same as a normal kiss was, but Tobio readily returned it and even pulled closer to the brunet when another set of fireworks blared in the sky. They stayed like that for only a short while, though, since the feeling of moistening medical masks against their lips wasn’t enjoyable. More fireworks punched the sky, garnering much of Tobio’s attention whenever he wasn’t returning his husband’s prolonged gaze.

“I guess I can just carry you back afterwards. I just wanted you to see the fireworks,” Tooru shrugged but ended up promptly shoved as a result. He laughed, though, rather content with the sight of Tobio’s pink blush peeking over the tops of his ears. It was well worth it in the end, since he knew how much Tobio valued their time together just as he valued the varying expressions on his husband’s face.


	3. Untangling is Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having someone brush your hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take the time to thank everyone for reading this thus far. OiKage is my OTP, so I hope I'm doing at least one of them justice.  
> But now I must try and scrub off my sin.

If Tooru recalled correctly, the rustling of sheets and the sudden movement from his side as limbs untangled from his own had woken him up that morning. Though he wasn’t exactly certain since it was early and he was barely achieving consciousness. It could’ve easily been the feeling of warmth escaping the region formerly occupied by Tobio or the soft sounds of trembling breath and hiccups coming from the opposite side of the bed, too.

Either way, Tooru had woken up rather abruptly that morning. His chocolate brown eyes had cracked open and stared blankly at the currently empty spot at his immediate side. Then he peered at the very edge of the bed and noticed his husband sitting up with that same panicked expression he’d come to expect after bad dreams plagued him. It was so common now that Tooru didn’t have much of a reaction other than groggily scooting over and wrapping his arms around the startled man.

“What was it about this time?” Tooru asked through a low yawn. He leaned his head on Tobio’s shoulder, gently pressing soft kisses to the stray marks he’d embedded in his husband’s skin the previous night.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Tobio had immediately replied, his voice clearly shaken but determined to keep some of his dignity intact.

Tooru hummed in return, just nuzzling Tobio and tightening his grip around him. Both of them knew that Tobio’s nightmares tended to wake Tooru, but it was almost like karma at this rate with how many times Tooru had been the one to shock Tobio awake. And even though Tooru was most certainly not a natural morning person, he didn’t harbor the same aggravation towards being woken via Tobio’s nightmares as he did being woken by alarm or some other obnoxious noise he didn’t believe deserved to exist in the same plane as he did.

“I’m sorry, just go back to sleep,” Tobio finally mumbled after a few quiet minutes of just Tooru’s persistent nuzzling.

Tooru wasn’t sure if his nuzzling actually had any affect this time, since many nightmares had resulted in Tobio pushing him away and withdrawing from life itself for much of the day. He never learned what those nightmares were actually about, but he’d just assumed they were terrible enough to buy silence. But there were others that Tobio told him about. To Tooru, many of those nightmares seemed silly while others were understandable. There was one that had brought his husband to tears in his sleep, but he’d never been told the contents of it. Tobio even went as far as denying he’d ever cry in his sleep.

So, no matter how frustrating it all was for Tooru, he’d mostly managed to handle these situations with some degree of grace, even though he never knew if he was effective by any means. His solace came in the form of Tobio’s relaxing muscles and calming breaths. It appeared via his husband’s softening expression and turning around to return to his rightful place in Tooru’s arms.

“You never listen,” Tobio grumbled as he buried his face into Tooru’s neck and wrapped his legs around one of his husband’s bare legs. There was the soft mutterings of ‘Be careful there’ from Tooru, but Tobio had seemingly ignored it well enough and pressed in as close as he physically could muster at the moment.

“I never marketed that as a selling point, did I?” Tooru asked, letting his arm lazily drape over Tobio’s body.

“If you did, it was false advertising.”

“Many, you fall for everything then, how lame.”

Tooru took the chance to properly pull the blankets back over them and squinted over at the clock in a vain attempt to read the neon green numbers there. It was pretty useless, though, since all he saw were four blurry patches on the black screen. With a pout, he asked what time it was but only received a shrug on Tobio’s end. Of course, Tobio was withholding the time from him. After all, Tooru had to go to work that morning, which meant inevitably getting out of bed and leaving for much of the day. And like any day off, Tobio didn’t want his husband leaving him, but especially not right after a nightmare.

“Tobio, I have to go in today; what time is it?” he repeated, this time getting no response. Due to their current position, it would’ve been near impossible to even attempt a grab at his glasses without dropping them, either.

Tooru let out a disgruntled groan and started wiggling in protest to his current imprisonment. Of course he wanted to try and somehow comfort Tobio, but work obviously took priority at the moment. There was no way he could simply call out because his husband had a nightmare and didn’t want him leaving. And lying about an emergency also didn’t seem like a valid option, either. But going to work meant not only getting out of bed – which would prove to actually be a mission – but also getting ready and getting to his car, too. He would be lucky if he managed to untangle himself at this point, let alone genuinely leaving the warmth and comfort of the mattress.

So, vainly, he started to whine as well as wiggle. Much to his disappointment, it didn’t really seem to faze Tobio in the slightest. In fact, the younger man had merely begun placing ghostly kisses over Tooru’s neck and upper collar.

“Tobio, seriously, what time is it,” Tooru breathed, somewhere between annoyance, exhaustion, and squashed desire. Of course he knew the game Tobio was playing right now. Starting to kiss his neck and gradually lull him into arousal just to keep him there longer. He ended up running late every time. But, he also fell for it every time, too.

After a prolonged period of silence, Tobio stubbornly relented and said, “Time for you to get up, I think.” He frowned against Tooru’s neck when the brunet kept moving around in order to free himself, deciding to just bite down on one of the rather obvious hickeys remaining from the night before. All of Tooru’s movement ceased and his body stiffened, his lips clamping shut just so Tobio didn’t have the satisfaction of knowing he’d done something enjoyable. But both of them already knew, regardless of Tooru’s desperate efforts.

“Tobio, I need to get ready for work,” Tooru demanded once his voice had properly returned. He’d started squirming again too, careful not to be too rough with his leg movements so neither him nor Tobio were injured in the process. Though, his movements paused again when his husband’s grip on his body tightened, the younger man’s hands still vaguely trembling against his skin.

Tooru sighed heavily, resigning to wrapping his arms around Tobio in momentary defeat. “I can’t skip today,” he muttered, nuzzling his nose into the other’s raven hair, “But I’ll stay right here as long as I can afford if you help me get ready afterwards, okay?”

It was a compromise he’d become so familiar with that there really wasn’t any point of asking anymore. They both knew the terms and conditions and agreed to it each and every time.

Tooru let his fingers walk across the vast expanse of his husband’s bare back. He felt over strong shoulder blades and his prominent spine as well as over the small hills his nails had carved into the lower and side portions of the landscape. He loved leaving marks like these just as much as he loved receiving the searing feeling of perfectly manicured nails raking across his glistening skin. But neither was as good as feeling Tobio’s teeth and tongue work at his flesh, much like they were doing now.

 As Tooru had come to learn, Tobio was clingy in certain regards. His hand would intertwine tightly in places he recognized people more than when they were alone or surrounded by strangers. Kisses were often times reserved for places no one could see, but made their way into the lingering insecurities Tobio retained. And hickeys were both for certainty and pleasure.

Similarly, Tooru adored wrapping an ankle around his husband’s while out in public places or walking with their little fingers entwined. He adored fleeting, passionate kisses snuck into inappropriate places just to watch Tobio’s cheeks flare up. And, most of all, he loved other people knowing Tobio was _his_ husband. He loved the look on people’s faces when they noticed the little bites peeking out from under Tobio’s clothing or when makeup ran off and revealed all of the marks Tooru had left. He loved blazing a trail in every walk of life, just as he had come to love his husband’s passion increase over their time together.

Learning about what Tobio’s body found pleasing had also been an interesting adventure. For all intents and purposes, he was still learning, as was Tobio. But that didn’t mean what had had already learned was any less great. On the contrary, coming to realize that Tobio didn’t enjoy collars and leashes but asphyxiation left him ‘breathless’ was good to note. And knowing that being unable to see tended to scare him while denying him release had his toes curling was crucial. Tobio straddled a desire to be treated gently and roughly, wanting both unconditional love and uncontrollable lust at the same time. Tooru had always been happy to oblige. Though that barrier left many things in the dark until he had time to properly introduce them to his rather bashful husband.

This made fantasies and roleplay an interesting phenomena that only came to fruition after a date spent teasing away from prying eyes. Tobio scarcely obliged Tooru’s mischievous tendencies in public, no matter how safe they might’ve been. He was grateful when Tooru stopped due to his discomfort, but there had been few times he was swayed merely by the brunet’s burning eyes. It was much like Tooru’s adoration for vocal confirmation of his progress and how it so often contrasted with Tobio’s usually quiet disposition; where Tooru’s passion sometimes pulled wall piercing cries and pleas from his husband, drawing out needy begging and lewd words.

Today didn’t seem like a day where Tooru’s hands would secure Tobio’s to the headboard and his mischievous fingers and taunting mouth would tease the younger man into submission. No, today was filled with those same fingers massaging taut muscles and enticing occasional moans from the raven-haired man’s lips. It saw Tooru rather slowly pressing kisses over his husband’s face, refusing to leave a single area untouched. And it yearned for little more than Tobio’s hands finally moving away from Tooru’s back in order to feel over his husband’s firm chest and stomach.

Their lips finally met in an embrace lacking the same gentleness their other movements contained. It was raw and increasingly desperate. Their hands soon followed suit, Tooru’s hands pulling around to his husband’s thighs and massaging the area in search of the sweet spots he knew to be there and Tobio’s thumbs rolling over his husband’s stiffening nipples. Both rhythms contradicted each other, drawing out uneven breaths and gasps from both parties, but mostly Tooru since he was prone to being loud no matter the occasion.

Tooru continued to massage Tobio’s thighs for a little after he’d felt his husband’s body tense and lean into his familiar touch. But vaguely taking into account the time it must’ve been, he let one of those hands slide upwards to firmly grasp his husband’s growing erection. He gave it a quick stroke to measure Tobio’s reaction before starting up a lazy, unsatisfying rhythm and gladly started bringing what little moisture he could from the slit down to the rest of the shaft. The groan of both frustration and pleasure had him giggling into what remained of their sloppy kiss. Naturally, Tobio pulled away and attempted a glare but it was too firmly masked over by increasing lust to actually articulate his silent point.

“I love you too,” Tooru beamed, cutting off his husband’s next probable phrase by starting to stroke him firmly. Though Tobio started blushing thanks to the rather loud moan that escaped his non-expecting lips and a stubborn pout attempted to emerge but found itself incapable of keeping itself alive.

Tooru smiled broadly for a moment and slowly untangled his legs from Tobio’s, allowing himself the ability to lay on his back and pull the other along with him. “Want to ride me, babe?” he purred softly, “I definitely wanna see you fuck yourself on me instead of a dildo like last night. What do you say?”

Tobio paused like he did every other time Tooru spoke vulgarly, as if initially still expecting insults, but then he gulped and blushed more. His eyes averted, feeling hazier by the minute and the progressive block to his breathing hadn’t aided any sentiment of clear thought.

Regardless, he consented with a nod and smile, licking his dry lips and attempting to sit up despite shaking legs. It was only possible after some time spent away from Tooru’s devilish hands, but it was mostly in vain. Once he was away from his husband’s hands, Tobio was feeling around on the floor on Tooru’s side of the bed to locate the forsaken bottle of lube he knew was left there.

While Tobio was feeling around for the bottle, Tooru let the hand that had previously been jerking his husband off come up to run over Tobio’s bare ass. It was a gentle motion, for the most part. But the moment Tobio had sat up with the bottle in his hand, Tooru’s own hand rose from the other’s rear and slammed down in a swift smack. Tobio yelped in surprise, immediately dropping the bottle and covering his mouth. He looked over at Tooru, who only wiggled his fingers in a mock greeting, before squirming backwards with the bottle so he didn’t risk getting spanked again.

“Going to finger yourself, Tobio?” Tooru asked, watching said man with immense interest.

“Yes,” Tobio nodded after taking a moment to focus on coating his fingers, “Are you going to jack off?”

“Briefly.”

A small chorus of mutual chuckles erupted in the otherwise quiet room. Nothing was actually funny, but after years where laughter was impossible between them, each patter of breath seemed to make up for the lost years dedicated to petty envy and heated competitiveness. Tooru loved Tobio’s laughter. It was usually soft and choked since he preferred hiding it rather than expressing his joy outright. But whenever it was audible it was low and innocent in ways its owner could never return to. It was almost like Tobio’s moans, in a way. Usually they existed as nothing more than heavy pants and occasional whimpers. But there were other times, like now, where they were clear and desperate. Tooru also understood that some of it was a show right now, just to grant him some extra material since they lacked the time to fully flesh out their passions.

While Tobio pushed a single finger past his tightened entrance, Tooru settled on a slow pace for his hand to stroke mostly present erection after stealing the bottle of lube and pouring a good amount into his palm. His eyes fixed themselves on the way Tobio’s face tensed and relaxed as his finger swirled and thrusted inside of himself despite his poor vision. His teeth dug into his bottom lip already, mistakenly rushing himself by pushing in a second finger far too early and needing to slow down to compensate for the tinge of pain it had brought. He felt himself getting more desperate because of Tooru’s almost obnoxiously loud moans and two fingers had hardly felt adequate, let alone one.

Scissoring the two digits helped for a little, but his legs began quivering and a third finger was hastily pushed inside to try and compensate. Tobio’s moans became a little louder, much to Tooru’s enjoyment, and watching his blurry husband thrust his hips back against his lithe fingers was a joy few others had been allowed in on.

“Ready yet?” Tobio stuttered, eyeing Tooru’s cock rather than his face at this point.

“Depends on how ready you are,” Tooru answered without skipping a beat. His own hand had stopped stroking himself for the time being, but he didn’t let go of himself, either. Instead, he continued to tempt his husband, who readily pulled his dripping fingers out and carefully wiggled over to Tooru. He only straddled the brunet’s hips once Tooru had moved his own hand off of his erection and let Tobio’s take its place instead.

Slowly, he positioned the end of Tooru’s cock at his dripping hole, pushing himself down while his hands came out to rest on his husband’s chest to support himself. It didn’t take long for him to fit the entirety of Tooru’s length inside of him, nor did it take him much time at all to adjust before rocking his hips. He inhaled sharply, continuing to just rock his hips in a steady rhythm until Tooru’s hands arriving on his hips convinced him to raise himself up and push back down as well.

Tooru gasped vociferously and squeezed Tobio’s hips. His own hips had begun to thrust up in order to meet the other’s, roughly timing movements that progressively lacked structure in favor of desperation. They had started in the thick of passion, so it was only natural that their hips quickly fell into greedy thrusts in search of Tobio’s prostate and mutually promised orgasms. The first of which had been located in a matter of moments, effectively shaking the younger man’s body as all future thrusts aimed at tormenting this same area.

Soon enough, it was all over for Tobio. Once his prostate was hit with a particularly hard thrust, the knot twisting in his lower abdomen had finally burst and cum splattered over his chest and thighs, dribbling down to touch Tooru, who was still determinedly thrusting into him. Tobio’s sensitive body elicited several cries from him until Tooru’s body tenses and his thrusts died out in favor of lazy bounces. He reached his arms up and pulled Tobio down for a chaste kiss, then the younger man released his husband’s cock from his anus and finally let the brunet get up.

Tooru stretched as he walked towards the washroom for a quick rinse, leaving Tobio behind to follow or wait at his leisure. He did end up joining the taller man, though much of the rinse ended up being dedicated to soft kisses and little words rather than actually washing off. This only lasted a few minutes, since Tooru still didn’t know what time it was and didn’t want to end up late for work. So, after his husband aided in his simple clean up, Tooru got out of the shower, dried off, put in his contacts, and cleaned his mouth. He was then off to peek at the time and curse as he rushed to pull out something presentable to wear.

Tobio had exited the shower while Tooru was getting dressed and had joined him in the bedroom after he’d dried off and brushed his teeth. It was always so amusing seeing Tooru get ready. He didn’t have the most superb fashion taste – even though he seemed to think he did – but his hair was always styled perfectly and he managed to look presentable, at the very least. At the moment, Tooru had sat himself down in front of their mirror to start combing his hair when Tobio had come up behind him and grabbed the comb.

“Get what you need to style it ready,” Tobio murmured. It always took Tooru anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes to do his hair, all depending on where he was going and what he was doing to potentially mess it up. The shower helped hide the damage done sleep and two periods spent pleasing one another, but the way the brown locks still flicked in weird directions and remained unnaturally flattened in others hadn’t fully left. So, carefully, Tobio had started to run the comb through Tooru’s hair. There were a few knots here and there, but it was otherwise easy to brush through thanks to its naturally slick nature. But since Tooru’s hair was thick, the comb was plagued with excess hair.

In the meantime, Tooru had set up which products he’d be using to style his hair that morning in the order he planned on using them in. Nothing too difficult on days like this, but he still wanted to go into work looking his absolute best. It was pretty hard to focus when Tobio was racking the comb through his hair, though. His toes curled and his fingers clenched as the pleasant feeling, a low hum rumbling from deep within his throat. He couldn’t help but lean in closer to his husband’s still bare body, just letting his eyes flutter shut and enjoy the moment.

 


	4. You're Impatient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a slurry of personal things coming up, I present the long overdue fourth chapter!

Anticipation was probably one of the worst feelings to be subjected to… according to impatient people everywhere. All Tobio could think about in the weeks leading up to July 20th was when he’d clicked OK on an online order a few weeks prior. His laptop had started overheating on his lap after several hours of searching and the room was humid thanks to the grueling start of summer. Per his confirmation e-mail, the order had been placed at precisely 4:38 in the afternoon and his credit card had accepted it roughly five minutes after. Tooru had still been out with his friends, leaving Tobio alone to order his husband’s birthday gift without the nosy brunet randomly peeking over his shoulder.

It was a perfect plan and Tobio had even done everything _right_ too! He’d gotten huffy when Tooru first brought up going to the beach with his friends then gradually accepted the slightly taller man’s plan as if Tooru’s whining had inevitably ground down on his nerves enough to coax out a flat, “Whatever, just don’t expect me to take care of your sunburns when you get back.” And even on the day Tooru had planned to go out, Tobio had acted normally. He’d groggily gotten up, ‘begrudgingly’ let Tooru drag him into the shower, and stiffly made breakfast for them while his husband made sure he had everything and cleaned up the scratches on his back. Then they’d had a simple breakfast featuring their usual banter – none of which Tobio could actually remember – before Tooru kissed him good-bye and left. Then Tobio had waited a little while after the remnants of his husband’s car engine were out of earshot before he’d begun his search for the perfect birthday gift.

The weeks leading up to July 20th turned into days and he’d easily become engrossed in the hype that went into planning a ‘small’ party for the boisterous brunet. In reality, Tobio didn’t do much of the planning. Hajime was the brains behind the operation, as he’d been for years, but Tobio got to help set things up once everything was ready. After all, with a terrible liar for a husband, Tooru was bound to find out about the birthday plans long before he’d normally figure it out if Tobio knew too much about them (which the brunet had successfully done for most of his nearly 30 years anyway) and Hajime wasn’t going to risk that. That would’ve just led to Tooru getting smug, and no one liked being around him when he was like that.

So, with the birthday party plans completed and the 20th a mere two days away, all that was left was for Tobio’s damn present to finally arrive. After several weeks of waiting and a variety of confused expressions and comments from Tooru since the package was first delayed, Tobio was at the limits of his objectively thin patience.

He was sitting upside down on the couch with his legs hanging over the back and his cell phone suspended above his face as he scrolled to find the site's contact number. Calling now would’ve been problematic since Tooru was sitting across the room in the reclining chair with his tablet in his hands. But having the number on hand seemed like a cunning thing to do. That way when he went for his evening run he could make the call without looking suspicious.

For now, Tobio just saved the number to his contacts and snuck a peek at Tooru, trying to suppress the natural smile that started creeping over his lips. Tooru was always interesting to watch when he assumed no one was looking. His normally self-assured composure faded away in favor of relaxed brows, observant eyes, and a lethargic smile. While Tobio could never figure out what Tooru was thinking about, he did adore the change from the usual snarky commentary and narcissistic attitude.

Right now, Tooru was in the middle of reading – an activity he took his contacts out and pulled on his thick, black-framed glasses for. At first, Tobio had thought Tooru’s glasses selection (like much of his clothing) was odd. He’d personally never believed the brunet would’ve worn glasses, especially when he regularly had contacts. Not wearing glasses showed off more of his handsome face and let his long lashes truly pop.

But after seeing him in his glasses several times, Tobio had eventually come around and saw the appeal. While Tooru gave up the attention to more of his face and his long lashes, he allowed other areas to take the spotlight. Like his lips, for instance. They'd always appeared soft and kissable. But now they were the focal point of his face and the miniscule shine his usual cherry lime lip balm gave them was increasingly noticeable. His nose was another prominent feature, but it was mostly for looking so much smaller than it usually did thanks to the glasses’ distracting properties.

Over time, Tobio had noticed that he referred to Tooru as cute more than handsome or sexy when he was wearing his glasses, much to the brunet’s disgruntlement. Perhaps puncturing his husband’s masculinity was a foolish idea, but right now all Tobio could do to forget about his late package was the adorable way Tooru’s eyes were sparkling and his toes were curling in his fuzzy, purple socks. He must have been reading an e-book. That was Tobio’s only logical explanation for Tooru not realizing that he was staring at him this whole time. Or he was ignoring him, which was equally as common.

Tobio leaned towards the former option since Tooru’s eyes had never once voluntarily flickered in his direction. He figured that he was merely a part of the brunet’s peripheral vision and would remain as such until he either moved a considerable amount or Tooru finished reading, whichever came first. So, for the time being, Tobio just decided to scroll through one of his mobile social media apps for a little bit of entertainment. The silence was comfortable enough that he didn’t feel the need to stir some miscellaneous conversation that would’ve no doubt cycled back to their current state. And that was fantastic, since Tobio didn’t have anything particularly pressing to bring up. Usually his chatterbox husband was the one to break their prolonged silences.

As he did a few minutes later when his legs both rose and swiftly slammed down on the foot rest of his recliner with an exasperated groan. An act which was repeated until Tobio reached forward to put his phone down and looked over to Tooru. He already missed the tranquility that had occupied the brunet’s face. But the sudden change to vexation wasn’t unwelcomed either because of its familiarity. Tooru’s furrowed brows, scrunched up nose, and pouty lips were almost as hard to ignore as his grievous verbal cries for his husband’s easily occupied attention.

“Yes, _dear_?” Tobio initiated after another, more thorny silence.

“Cute,” Tooru forewarned, “I can’t _believe_ this!”

For a shorter silence, Tobio had just stared at Tooru in absolute curiosity and confusion. He knew that the brunet was purposefully playing the pronoun game. This wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time Tooru opted to verbal games just to provoke Tobio to verbalize his unspoken questions. It also reluctantly worked every single time.

“What is ‘this’ exactly, Tooru?” he finally asked, letting out his own exasperated sigh as well.

“Don’t sound more annoyed than me!” Tooru instinctively whined. But it didn’t take long for him to regain his more irritated composure – even if it was just proven to be a farce. “This character! He was _so_ stupid!”

“Oh really? How come?”

This time Tooru was the silent one. Except now he was pulling his glasses off and fixing his fringe with a hilariously serious expression. Then he proceeded to raise one of his legs up and bend it over his other knee, that way he could easily set his tablet down on his armrest and fold his hands on his kneecap for the most dramatic pose he could muster. After settling back into his seat, Tooru finally looked back at Tobio – or, rather, squinted at him since his eyes weren’t up to the task of taking detailed figures in – with a snootier expression on. “He decided to,” the brunet began, pausing for what Tobio could only assume was dramatic effect or trying to prevent a laugh at his own ridiculousness, “try and be cunning. Can you believe it? A stupid person trying to be cunning _never_ works!”

Tobio tilted his head to the side in minute confusion, then let his body fall sideways on the couch so he could sit up properly and stop the blood from rushing to his head. His vision whirled the moment he sat up, though, and he briefly wondered if this lack of focus was how Tooru saw the world without his glasses on or contacts in. But then, at the last second, he decided not to ask that question.

Instead, he asked, “I guess I can believe it? What exactly did he do?”

“Ugh, of course _you_ could believe a stupid character could suddenly start acting clever without any obvious downfalls,” Tooru huffed presumptuously. He’d paused to stare at Tobio for an instance, though, then lightened his expression enough to smile apologetically and verbally backtrack once Tobio’s irritation had started becoming readily apparent. “Anyway! He’d tried coming up with some cute little plan and thought he could pull the wool over a smarter character’s eyes. Talk about bad methodology, right?” he jeered, toothy smile and all.

At first, Tobio had just stared blankly at Tooru. His brows were furrowed and his nose had come up to complete the look of (irritable) confusion. But thinking over Tooru’s words gradually pulled his nose down and started tearing his eyebrows apart until, all at once, his whole expression dropped.

“Fuck.”

“Oh, Tobio-chan’s processing faster than usual! Did you clean your cache?”

“How did… I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Now, now, no need to lie,” Tooru dismissed, adding in a wave of his hand as he pulled his foot rest down and pulled himself up to his feet, “I was starting to wonder if I should’ve waited until my birthday to surprise you with _my_ present. But then I peeked this morning and I figured it was much better to just come clean about it. …Not that the present’s _clean_.”

The blood that had finally started to settle in Tobio’s body yanked itself right back to his head for an encore performance, warming his cheeks and ears to a rosy pink. He shakily rose to feet, collapsing his hands in on one another to tap his fingers together as he wordlessly attempted to ask Tooru the obvious barrage of “When did the package come? Why didn’t you just give it to me? Did you know from the start?” questions.

Meanwhile, Tooru just flashed a sly grin and jutting a hip out with a hand placed firmly on top of it. He said something about being a great detective that Tobio didn’t quite catch due to the blood pounding in his ears. He definitely should have seen this coming. Why hadn’t he just asked a friend to borrow their mailing address? Of course, that would’ve been the smart thing to do. He’d gotten too excited about making Tooru happy that he’d completely forgotten about taking precautions when it came to surprising the man who refused to let himself be the last one to know about anything.

And while Tobio tried to rationalize his brash emotions and responses, Tooru had come around the coffee table and lethargically wrapped an arm around his flustered husband. He didn’t laugh for once, at least mindful that whatever remained of Tobio’s clearly fragile pride was already on the verge of civil war. But he did rest his head against his husband’s and hummed some song he’d heard on the radio earlier that day.

“You know,” he began, only continuing once he was certain he had all of Tobio’s distressed attention, “you’re a better shopper than I’d originally taken you for. I’m definitely surprised, even after all these years.”

Tobio didn't respond right away. Instead, he took some time to relax a little and just reclined into his husband’s side. He’d definitely be smarter about it next time, he told himself despite knowing that there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t manage to sell himself out in some other way the next time he got Tooru a gift.

“I’ve always gotten you good gifts,” he finally muttered.

“You usually went to Iwa-chan for help.”

"Because you never used to  _tell_ me anything. I had to figure out what you liked _somehow_.”

"So, you'd went behind my back to figure things out about me? How devious of you, my little vigilante!”

"I guess we’re both vigilantes then. After all, I know you’d went to my friends to learn about what I like,” Tobio begrudgingly sighed. Recalling their earlier miscommunications – or, simply, lack of communication – was never enjoyable. There had been so much arguing before they’d started dating simply because they had a hard time figuring out how to place their questions and curiosities without the past interfering. It had been a regrettable time. But after they’d tripped so many times, they had managed to learn the proper steps to whatever little dance they were arrhythmically moving to.

“Hmph! No respect for your elders as always! Even when my birthday’s so close!” Tooru lightheartedly complained, adding in a typical eyeroll for emphasis, “Speaking of which, I never thought you were so into dressing up that you’d get me costumes as a present. Did you figure that your body’s the best present you’ll ever be able to give me or was that only part of the gift?”

Tobio’s rosacea steadily increased as he was questioned, but he, nonetheless, looked up at his husband and flashed a quirky smile, “Well, aside from never saying that I’d be the one wearing any of those little outfits. You’re going to be 30 in two days. It’s said that your desire’s only going down from here, so might as well do what I can now.”

"Excuse me?!"

"What? Are you opposed to dressing up?"

"That's not...!"


	5. Starry Transitions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Writing with a pen for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, a chapter. Here y'all go.

            Tooru and Tobio’s apartment ranged from an organized mess to a meticulously arranged painting depending on the time of year. In the winter, it veered towards the latter; both of them were inside more often due to the cold and cleaning products were constantly on standby to fend off the elements. That was the case during the early spring and late autumn as well. However, things were haphazard for the other half of the year. It was too hot to care and guests usually came in the form of outings.

Their apartment had been this way since Tobio had moved in about six years ago. It had been a tense and stressful first year, one that came off as more of a stupid decision than a calculated step forward in their relationship. Although, part of that feeling certainly had a lot to do with Tobio being fully sheathed in Tooru’s rear when Tooru blurted out the question in between several other forgettable mumblings.

The rest of it was less embarrassing. They’d been dating for almost three and a half years at that point and much of that time had been taxing. Their whole first year together had been filled with bickering and disagreements. Tooru had lost count of how many times one of them had almost called the whole thing off or ended up on the verge of tears after an argument. Maybe it had been a terrible concoction of pride and bundled feelings that had kept them together? It was the answer Tooru would vocalize. In reality, seeing Tobio cry _because_ of him rather than over his team losing had really stayed with Tooru. Similarly, Tobio’s shrill, _“Aren’t **partners** supposed to be honest?”_ still residually haunted Tooru’s ears whenever their disagreements started to veer out of control.

Things had only really begun simmering down after their first anniversary and by the time Tooru had asked Tobio to move in with him, they’d developed a previously unthinkable level of domesticity. Because of that, Tooru had been exceedingly anxious about leaping from weekend and vacation visits to complete cohabitation. If Tobio had been, he hadn’t let Tooru in on it. In fact, he’d entered an endearing honeymoon attitude in the weeks leading up to his move-in date. That had been the last time Tooru had seen Tobio truly cast him a starry-eyed expression similar to his middle school awe.

After move-in had been… difficult, to say the least. Their domesticity hadn’t dissipated, but they’d started arguing more. Hajime had once mentioned that moving in with a partner, no matter how long the couple had been together, was always difficult. And while Tooru had taken that as some sort of solace, he’d truthfully been stressed out. He had been twenty-four and stupid(ly in love), meanwhile Tobio had been fresh out of university and still learning how to love Tooru properly. Neither of them had been working in their degree field yet and Tobio’s abilities had taken him to  professional volleyball levels while Tooru found himself suppressing a resurgence of his adolescent envy and inferiority.

Nothing about that year had been easy. But, with an increase in overt communication, it had mellowed out for a while too. It had been within that first year that their apartment’s cleanliness cycle had begun and it had only cemented itself as the years went on. Similar cycles, such as laundry, cooking, and shopping had begun during that turbulent year and stabilized into something mutually beneficial. Yes, after that first year, Tooru had seen everything as smooth sailing…

Until Tobio had started acting weirder than usual during their second year. Tooru had first noticed it one evening when he surprised his then boyfriend at practice for the first time. Tobio had, first and foremost, looked confused. His thin eyebrows had lifted high under his fringe, letting his navy eyes widen and the rest of his face pull down.

It had always been an endearing expression, even if Tooru hadn’t always been willing to admit it. Tobio’s reckless stupidity was the backbone to his genius, after all. So even if Tobio’s expressive face had had a habit of yanking Tooru’s heartstrings, commenting on it had been a nonnegotiable until Tooru had started flirting with the hapless boy.

At the time, though, Tobio’s lips hadn’t pushed his cheeks up with a little smile. Instead, he’d just stared at Tooru with the most incredulous look he could’ve mustered and avoided eye contact throughout practice. Tooru had been watching _him_ , though. He’d distracted himself by noting every little trick his former underclassman had picked up just by watching him, as well as each that had clearly belonged to someone else or Tobio himself.

However, thoughts like _Did I piss him off?_ and _Does his team not know about us?_ had inevitably streamed into his head at some point. Tooru had never pegged himself as particularly needy or clingy, but the thought of Tobio keeping their relationship a secret – no matter the reason – had rubbed him the wrong way. In Japan, of course, they still had quite a bit to hide. Their relationship wasn’t illegal, but it wasn’t really protected, either. In fact, it was probably better for the both of them if their relationship was kept to themselves. But… Tooru supposed he’d been (even) more selfish back then. He had also been significantly pettier, given his train of thought.

The very moment Tobio had left the gym for the locker room after practice had wrapped up, Tooru had tailed him. He hadn’t really planned out what he’d wanted to say or do. He hadn’t even genuinely acknowledged any of Tobio’s teammates until he’d overheard a few whispered variants of “Is _that_ Kageyama’s boyfriend?” between the few members he’d passed by.

As a result, he’d briefly looked over his shoulder and offered one of his usual charismatic smiles. It hadn’t taken him long to get into some polite conversation with Tobio’s teammates, nor had it taken him long to figure out who had and hadn’t cared about their relationship. At least those who had seemed apprehensive hadn’t voiced their opinions, although Tooru hadn’t been certain if that reservation was due to politeness or respect for Tobio.

Either way, their conversation had been interrupted by Tobio clearing his throat from the locker room door. His eyes darted between Tooru and his teammates a few times before closing in time with a deep-chested sigh.

“Oikawa, I’m done here,” he’d stated – virtually ignoring Tooru’s confusion over the sudden formality – then took a few steps forward to pass by his boyfriend, “We should head home before it gets dark.”

“I have my car,” Tooru had immediately interjected, his hand latching onto Tobio’s wrist to keep him still. Surprisingly, Tobio had obliged and looked back at him expectedly. He hadn’t seemed _mad_. Just indifferent, which Tooru had come to learn was often times much worse than angry outbursts. At least there was something to _do_ about anger and it often came from _somewhere_. Apathy was difficult and worrisome. That neutral expression alone had had Tooru’s heart racing.

What had been worse was the awkward silence between them all the way to the parking lot. Tobio had yanked his wrist away at some point in favor of holding hands, but even that hadn’t been reassuring. Tooru had been too caught up on Tobio’s mood and other reactions to genuinely consider his sweeter gestures. How could he have homed in on Tobio’s thumb caressing the back of his hand or how their hips had brushed together as they walked when Tobio had been giving him colder gestures not long ago?

“My captain and his girlfriend are getting married,” Tobio had suddenly mentioned when they’d finally located Tooru’s car.

Tooru had glanced from his silver car to Tobio, cocking a brow, “Wow? Congrats. I hope they’re happy together.” He’d paused to really look at Tobio after extending his obligatory remark, though. _Why would you remember **that** of all things?_ he’d pondered, scrunching up his nose.

Almost as if he were answering Tooru’s internal monologue, Tobio had asked, “Did you ever want to marry someone?”

Tooru had stopped walking almost immediately just to stare at Tobio, who’d taken a few more steps before stopping to look back at his boyfriend. He’d seemed innocent enough. His lips had been a little downturn and his eyebrows had hiked high on his forehead, but overall, Tobio had seemed to hold a single ounce of malice in his question. Perhaps defensiveness really hadn’t been the proper reaction.

“I’m dating you,” Tooru had answered.

“What about before me?”

“I haven’t been _that_ serious with anyone before you,” Tobio had tilted his head in a way that had boiled Tooru’s blood; ultimately, Tooru had growled, “ _What_? Do you have a problem with that?”

Whether Tobio had grown used to Tooru’s frustrated reactions or he had merely been suppressing his actual response, Tooru wasn’t certain. But the way Tobio had grabbed his other hand had been the most reassuring thing he could’ve done in that moment. “I’d never have a problem with that,” he’d confessed with a faintly proud smile teasing his lips before hopefully asking, “But… does that mean you’re _that_ serious with _me_?”

A surprised “What?” had escaped Tooru’s lips before he could’ve controlled it. But, without meaning to, that one word had seemed to fill Tobio with an odd sort of resolve. His eyes had implored Tooru to answer, even if the rest of his expression had seemed prepared to face rejection. Tooru’s heart had thudded so fast in his chest that it had begun hurting and his throat had felt drier than it ever had. All he’d really been able to manage was a choked, “Are you _proposing_ to me?!”

“Yes,” Tobio had responded without missing a beat. He’d seemed to catch his words first, though, and had quickly looked away while a light blush made its way to his cheeks. “I mean… I want to. We can’t get married in Japan, though… but I want to marry you, if you’ll let me,” he’d fumbled.

In a brief moment of similarity, Tooru had found himself tumbling over any sentence that he’d tried to start while his own cheeks lit up like a fireworks-laced sky. Near his car in some gymnasium parking lot had never been the place he’d envisioned getting proposed to. In fact, he’d never envisioned Tobio proposing to him. He’d always assumed he’d have to take that leap just as he’d done with everything else in their relationship. He should’ve never underestimated how driven and one-track minded Tobio was.

“If we could get married, I’d be happy to marry you,” Tooru had finally nodded, a rare natural smile sparking up.

That smile had given way to abrupt laughter when Tobio unsheathed a packaged light-up star pen from his duffel bag, though. He’d taken a few moments to pull it from the transparent plastic and flimsy cardboard, but when he had, he’d dropped down to one knee and offered it up like an engagement ring. “Let’s save this until then,” he’d said.

“Save the pen?” Tooru had hummed curiously but took the pen never the less.

“Yes! The only thing we’ll ever use it for will be to sign the certificate.”

Tooru’s smile had ended up softening at that. “I’ll happily take my engagement pen, then.”

When it came down to it, though, they’d ended up using that pen for a proof of partnership paper, first. It wasn’t marriage, per se. But it had provided them with more legal rights than merely dating had. Tobio’s eyes had seemed almost galactic the day Tooru had told him about it. That reaction alone had made it all worth it. Tooru wanted to truly, legally marry his husband one day. But for now, getting to use the light-up engagement pen on the proof of partnership paper had been comically endearing in a way only Tobio could’ve come up with.


End file.
